And That Was That
by yesterthoughts
Summary: "Even if it takes me ten years or twenty years, I'm going to come to this shop every single day until you give me the money I must take." "Wow, you really must not have anything to do." Kaito/Aoko AU, whereas Kaito is a (persistent) debt collector and Aoko is a (nonchalant) bookshop owner.
1. Chapter 1

A multichaptered story this time around, unlike all my other oneshots and that random twoshot. I got the inspiration from a romantic comedy act in a Korean show called Gag Concert (a few years back), and, well, let's just say I couldn't not write this.

 **Disclaimer** : If I was the owner of Kaito and Aoko- no, if I was the owner of the whole franchise, we would've gotten the happy ending years ago. Seeing as the whole series is still continuing today, with no notion of ever ending (I love you, show, but I want a happy ending too), you can probably guess that I own nothing. Oh, and while I'm on that topic, I don't own Gag Concert either.

"Oh, welcome back to The Child of the Blue! I have your book ready for you."

With a charming smile and a pleasant gesture, the bookstore owner lead the pleased customer to her desk.

"Let's see… Fujiwara-san, yes? I believe the book was _Fear Not, Fall Not_?"

Fujiwara-san clapped her hands together in delight. "Yes! You remember very well, Aoko-san."

Aoko laughed, "What can I say? It's all I can do." She picked the book up and brought it to her cashier. "That will be nothing more than ￥1500." (1500 yen = around $12/13)

The transaction was made, and the customer left the store with a happy smile.

It was a quiet day, all in all- perhaps the hundredth quiet day in a row. Aoko's bookstore did not have much business, mostly because it was new and small, a bit hidden behind a bigger store. 22-year-old Aoko didn't care; her dream of owning her own shop had come true, and that was enough for her at the moment.

Besides, she could always pass the time with a book in her hand, as she loved books as much as she loved the shop. A content smile graced her lips as she, in the humming silence, flipped page after page.

The bell rang, signaling someone entering. Aoko tore her eyes off the book and greeted the person, "Welcome to The Child of the Blue! How may I help you?"

The first thing she saw, as she bowed, was clean, polished black shoes. As she straightened back up, she noticed the neat black slacks and dress shirt. _A man in all black_ , she thought, _How interesting._ She didn't know if she has ever seen black dress shirts before, but it was pretty nice-looking.

When her eyes reached the face, she was taken by slight surprise. From the polished look of the clothes, she had expected a bit more serious of an expression and a tad bit calmer of a hair style. What her eyes were met with instead was a playful, widespread grin accompanied with twinkling eyes and a seemingly unbrushed bed of hair.

The stranger asked, "Are you the owner of this store?"

 _What a strange way of starting a conversation_ , she thought, but she shrugged it off to smile again. "Yes, I am she. Can I help you somehow?"

"Actually, you can." He reached inside his pocket to produce a small card. "I was sent by Kaze Corps. I understand that you haven't paid your debt for this shop ever since you've bought it? Which was, I believe, around four months ago."

She took the card from him- _KAZE CORPS, AGENT_ , it said. "No name?" she said aloud.

The no-namer shook his head. "No name." He continued. "I'm here to collect your money for the debt, and believe me when I say that even if right now you can put me off, I am one persistent agent."

Aoko stared at him. "So what you're saying is…?"

He grinned again, even bigger this time, and said, "Even if it takes me ten years or twenty years, I'm going to come to this shop every single day until you give me the money I must take."

He took two steps away from the desk and stood there, cocking his head. "This is where I am going to stand all day, every day- literally."

The first thing that came to Aoko's mind, and the first thing she said, was "Wow, you really must not have anything to do."

He threw his head back and laughed, but Aoko still knew that he meant it when he said he'd do so.

After a pause of thinking, Aoko shrugged. "As long as you don't get in the way of my customers, I think I'll be fine with this. Though by the looks of how this is going, you actually might have to wait a couple of years before you get your money. Is there a time limit?"

"Fortunately for you, no."

"Then," Aoko said, sending off a smile of her own, "if I'm going to have to see your face every day of my life until I earn enough money, we must get acquainted."

She came up from behind her desk and stood right in front of him, then took out her hand. "Hello, sir, my name is Aoko Nakamura and I am the owner of Child of the Blue. Nice to meet you."

He laughed again, though Aoko doesn't know why, and he accepted the handshake. "My name is Kaito."

"…that's all?"

"Yes. Simply Kaito is all."

And that was that.

.

.

.

Aoko bundled up her things and started off. "Another new day, Aoko! Let's try my best!" she said to herself. It was 6:00 in the morning, and the air was crisp and quiet. She loved the morning time, when it wasn't so bustling and busy like noon but still a bit chilly, a bit dark, but somehow so fresh.

She walked with a spring in her step, awaiting the time she got to spend with her dream shop. She reached Child of the Blue at 6:15, her face a bit warmed by the brief exercise and her feelings quite exhilarated.

She prepared things for about thirty minutes, organized for five, and cleaned up a bit for ten. Then she opened the shop.

Just five minutes after seven, the door signaled a customer. "Welcome-" she noticed the black attire and stopped herself. "Oh, hello there, Kaito-kun," she said instead.

"You start too early," he yawned in reply. "Why seven in the morning? Why not noon? You probably won't have any business until around that time."

Aoko nodded. "That may be true, but I enjoy the morning." It was a good enough answer for her, but maybe it wasn't for Kaito; but then again, she didn't really care about what he thought.

After the brief conversation, there really was nothing more to say. Aoko was constantly busy cleaning up and organizing, moving from place to place to place, opening boxes of new books and making more inventory. Meanwhile, Kaito sat in his chair in the corner, sometimes following Aoko's movements and sometimes seeming to nod off.

The early morning thing was not for him, Aoko assumed.

There really was no business until just a tad bit before noon, when two teenagers came in.

"Welcome!" Aoko immediately said. "How may I help you?"

"We're fine, thank you," the male student said. "Just looking around before lunch."

Aoko smiled agreeably. "A bit of window shopping never hurts. Is she your girlfriend?" She referred to the girl next to the person who'd spoken, who immediately pinked at the question.

"Not at all! We're just good friends." The flush of the faces on both sides said otherwise, but Aoko wisely held her silence.

"Well, I'll leave you to your own devices. You can call me if you need my help- my name is-"

"Aoko-san, right?" The male cut in.

Surprised, she stared at the smirking boy. "How…?" she inquired.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Don't pay him any attention. He just likes to play detective."

Aoko laughed, but dared to pay attention anyways. "But I really would like to know how you knew my name. I don't wear a nametag, so…"

The boy grinned. "The shop name, Child of the Blue. Blue is Ao, Child is ko. Blue child. Simple."

"I see." Aoko nodded, feeling quite delighted. It was just like a detective novel! She decided that she liked the two, even if she might never see him again. "Go on ahead then, you not-a-couple-only-friends, you."

She turned away to hide a small grin, and pretended to be busy for a second before returning to her comfortable spot with a book.

She hadn't read for five minutes when the boy called out, "Wait, Aoko-san?"

Right away she shot up. "Yes?" She made her way to the back of the small shop, still holding her book dearly to her heart. "Is there a problem?"

"No problem, just…" The boy, who had previously been staring with wide eyes at a magazine, moved his shaking gaze to the owner. "Is this," he briefly swallowed, "the first edition, perhaps?"

 _Of course_ , she thought, _any detective wanna-be's would know_ this _one_. "Yes, it most definitely is."

"The real deal?"

"What else?" She couldn't keep the sly grin off her face. "Only ￥35000, and in mint condition. And since I like the two of you very much, I'll give it to you for only, hmm, ￥31000."

The boy gaped. "Seriously? Is this a dream? Ran, pinch me. Real quick."

The girl, Ran (Aoko presumed), shrugged and pinched him hard in the arm, causing him to yelp.

"Not that hard!" he hissed before turning back to Aoko. "I'll take it. Of course I'll take it. Who wouldn't take it?"

It was Ran's time to gape. "Shinichi! You've got to be kidding me. A whole ￥31000- did you even bring that much money? What's so special about this English magazine anyways."

Shinichi (Aoko presumed) glared at Ran. " _You_ have got to be kidding _me_. This beautiful wonder I'm holding is the first edition of the Strand magazine's autobiography by Arthur Conan Doyles, and it's in the best condition I've ever seen. And only ￥31000!"

Ran frowned. "That's not a lot?"

"A lot? ￥31000 is barely anything compared to what this is actually worth! If Aoko-san had doubled, no tripled the amount I still would've bought it."

"My, I should've raised it," Aoko piped up. "Oh well, I guess. Now let's go make this official."

She lead the two students to the cashier where she rang up the ￥ÍÍÍ31000 and gave them the book. "I hope you two have a nice date together, not get shrunken at a shady amusement park corner, and then have a manga about it that never ends that will annoy me forever because it never ends." She smiled, all innocent, and fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) the two didn't hear it as they were still arguing about the rash buying.

"Good bye!" she bowed. As she was turning back to the book still in her hand, she caught sight of the random debt collector in the corner staring intensely at her. "What?"

"Oh, nothing in particular, just, you totally could've gotten much more than what you asked for if you took the initiative and payed off this debt faster so I don't have to stay here super long. You know? Nothing big or anything."

She sighed. "Kaito-kun, it seems you don't know anything about the book world. Even if I told you my reasoning behind it, you still wouldn't be able to understand, so I will quit before I even say anything more."

Kaito started to mimic her with a nasally voice. "Nakamura-san, it seems you don't know anything about the business world. Even if I told you what I thought of it, you wouldn't be able to understand, so I will quit before I even say anything more."

Aoko gave him a look. "Are you seriously going to do this to somebody you don't even know well?"

"Are you seriously going to do this to somebody you don't even know well?"

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Then fine!"

"Then fine!"

"I'm glad everything's settled, sir."

"I'm glad everything's settled, ma'am."

With that, she harrumphed and promptly sat down, fuming, and opened her book. She really couldn't concentrate with the anger boiling inside of her, but she flipped page after page anyways to at the very least seem occupied.

She knew her short temper was a problem, but obviously it was also his. She dared not glance at him just in case he was waiting for it- besides, she didn't want to look at his smirking face.

It was another half hour until she finally glanced at him to see him moping in the corner, with a cloud of gloom over his head. She was quite surprised, as she had expected him to also be at the very least annoyed. Her fire died a little, and she allowed herself to sigh.

"Sorry, I get kind of mad sometimes."

His pouting glare almost made Aoko laugh, but she managed to hold it in. "Yeah you do, and it's super fast too."

"I have a bit of a short temper, if you hadn't noticed," she said sheepishly. "I'm sorry I got so snappy."

He brightened up by the time she acknowledged her shortcoming, and he was his easily smiling self again. "Apology accepted."

And that was all there was to their first argument, the start of many other mini fights to come.

In fact, it didn't take long until they had their next argument- about two minutes later.

"To pay my boss back as soon as possible, you need to manage your business better, I'm telling you."

"And I'm telling you that I can manage just fine. See? I already got some of that payment back! Besides, if you're so good at business, why don't you go on and hold your own?"

"There are certain- _circumstances_ \- that won't allow me to. And this isn't about me, it's about you affecting me. The more you do that silly discount thing, the longer I'll have to stay here, and I'm sure both of us don't want that."

"You know, staying here was and still is entirely your choice. I could've easily agreed to send you money from here while you cruised at your house or something."

"I've been caught in the back too many times to do that. You never know until it's over. Trust me, this is the easiest way for both you and me."

"Me? How so?"

"You don't forget that you have a debt to repay because I'm always here, leering at you. Plus, you get some awesome business advice that would surely help you if you just happened to listen." He raised an eyebrow.

"I only listen to advice that makes good sense," she snapped back.

By this time, Aoko had steam coming out of her ears (as a saying, not literally), but Kaito was as cool as a cucumber. With a frustrated "Ugh!", she stomped to the back of the room and started to loudly rearrange some random books.

It had not been 5 minutes of tense, angry silence when Kaito also made his way to the back of the room.

"Peace?" he said, surprising her- she had not known he was there- and when she turned her head, a rose poofed up out of nowhere. His face had a hopeful, childish tinge to it, a simple but hesitant joy replacing the usual mischievous look in his eyes.

She couldn't help but smile at the random red rose, and her heart softened along with her expression. "Magic?" she half-joked (she half-wanted to believe, in her heart, that magic was real, just like any other book lover).

"Of course."

She fully laughed now, setting the book down and taking the rose delicately, not wanting to ruin the perfect image. "Is it real?"

"That is an insult to my magician-ness," he replied, indignant.

With that, they returned to their respective spots in a comfortable air, feeling much closer together now that they'd had a few fights and more than a few reconciliations, though the count for both were the same.

Business and books would most probably always be a fight between them, since their prime interests lied in different ways in both subjects, but it must be credited to both for their audacities in stating their separate opinions, for that was (as always) that.

* * *

[Hello folks, this be the writer. If you are wondering what that Gag Concert "corner" I got the inspiration from is about, it's pretty much about a debt collector that vows he won't move from that spot in the shop (it differs what shop every week, from restaurant to comic book store to all different kinds of things) for ten years if it means he'll get that money. They skip all the way to 10 years later, and it's obvious he likes the woman he's supposed to be intimidating and collecting money from, and every week the ending is different save for one thing: they always get a happy ending. It's pretty sweet and funny. This story is based off on that, BUT it takes a whole different aspect. So call it a parody, call it a copycat, but please take note that it is NOT plagiarism/stealing of any sort because I'm pretty much stating that I got the idea from that show and thus 'citing' it. Just for caution's sake, here you go ^^ Thanks.]


	2. Chapter 2

"Not much business today, too?" Kaito yawned. They were closing up the shop, and Aoko was locking the doors and checking security.

Aoko shrug-nodded. "It's just the usual flow. The two high schoolers do come here often, though. Maybe they've taken a liking?"

"Your first usual customers, Nakamura-san. Congratulations." His tone of voice didn't match his words, and Aoko rolled her eyes playfully.

"Ran-san and Shinichi-kun, huh?" Aoko thought aloud. "I… I ship them," she decided. She nodded to herself with a determined expression to accent the recent decision she made.

Her companion scoffed. "Come now. Is it really a smart thing to do to be- what's that word? Shipping?- your customers?"

"Shipping is perfectly okay, Kaito-kun. You just don't understand," she replied immediately. She turned her nose up into the air. "Shipping is life, shipping is love, shipping is to be shipped."

The look Kaito gave her clearly showed how he felt about this philosophy. No words were needed there.

"And anyways, this shouldn't be the time for such leisurely activities. You have no time for these play times-"

"- there's always time for shipping, sir-"

"-it's already been a month since I've come here every single insufferable day, ma'am," he drawled, not blinking an eye on her hot interruption. "How long will I have to keep coming here?"

"You are always free to go back, Kaito-kun. I've told you time and time again. I'm a good person, I won't run away, blah blah blah- you can leave me here all by myself and there won't be a difference." She paused. "I _would_ miss your magic tricks, though."

"…they're not tricks. It's real magic." His sulking voice made her grin to herself.

"Though I really do want to believe such a thing exists, we both know Santa Claus isn't real, okay? And it's prime time you taught me your magic-"

"Don't you dare say tricks again-"

"-tricks."

"Argh!"

Aoko's grin widened, and she made a small bow to say a playful I-don't-actually-mean-it apology.

Her phone rang at that precise moment, and she turned away to look at the incoming text message. "Oh, looks like I have to go. Have a nice rest-of-Tuesday-evening, Kaito-kun!"

She rushed off without another word, putting her phone to her ear as she called out a 'hello' to whoever was on the line.

And that was, in fact, that.

.

.

.

"A year has passed, Nakamura-san. A year! Aren't you tired of seeing my face every day for a year?" whined an all-black wearing magician debt collector.

"Hey, don't blame me for the lack of business! I can't help it if people don't know about this place. Besides, there have been more people who recognize this shop now, though it _is_ only two or three people. Still, anything helps," reasoned a hot-headed and stubborn shop owner who loved books. "I've already paid off about a seventh of the debt. You said yourself that there's no time limit!"

The debt collector blew a stray strand of his jet black hair away from his face. "Well, I kind of thought that, I don't know, it wouldn't take this long? And yes, it _is_ your fault because you're so nice to everyone that they all get discounts!"

The aforementioned shop owner put down her stack of books with considerably more force than she needed to. "It works in the long term, okay? They remember me as being super awesome, and so they'll come back! It'll pay off one day!"

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that before." Kaito sighed and sat down on his usual spot.

Aoko made a face. "Let's not start the day off with another argument, shall we?"

"…"

"Kaito-kun," she said, exasperated. A moment's thought later, she brightened up. "Hey, why don't you help me out with the shop? You can make some posters and put it up, wear a costume and advertise while I work inside the shop! Isn't it awesome? You can do some of your magic!" (She had learned from experience that when she wanted to reside on the good side of the fellow, she had to stay away from saying 'tricks' to him. The arguing moments, however, were different stories.)

"My magic is not for business use," was his only reply.

"Aww, c'mon. We've generally known each other for a year, haven't we? And every single day at that. So why not do something beneficial, eh?"

Kaito glared. "My magic is not for business use," he repeated.

"Fine, then, _sir_ ," Aoko said. She made a small semi-pout for a few seconds, then came back full force. "Then minus the magic, can you advertise for me?" She tried her sunny smile on him, which seemed to work magically: nothing happened at all.

"No costumes, please."

"Then at least posters. Can you draw well?"

"Meh."

Aoko made a face. "What's with you today? Aren't we past the argument already?"

"You are," he corrected. "I'm not."

Silence took over for a short while as Aoko pondered this. "Well," she finally admitted, "It would be probably very upsetting to come to someplace like this every single day without getting anything."

Kaito glanced over from his sulking slouch. "You understand. Finally," he grumped.

"I do," Aoko said sympathetically. "It must be terribly boring!"

He nodded fervently. "It is. You have fun reading, but what do _I_ do? Nothing!"

Aoko sighed. "If only there was something to pass the time with." After a dramatic pause, she added, "Like maybe advertising for the very shop."

Kaito said dryly, "I should've known this was where the whole conversation was going." It was evident, though, that he was over his little state of grumpiness. "Fine, fine, Aoko-san. I'll make you some posters, I'll go around posting it up, I'll do some business for you."

She smiled and said, "It'll help you in the long run, so don't be too horrible at it."

"What a weird thing to say with a smile," he said.

"Well, you haven't done anything yet, so I can't thank you right now." She slyly smiled. "After all, as someone very foolish and immature once said to me, 'you never know until it's over."

"Then I'm sure it's not somebody as great as I am," he said immediately. "I wonder who it is." His straight face was too much for Aoko, and she burst out laughing.

"You have a talent for making others laugh."

"Why thank you, I'm quite-"

"And also a talent for making others mad."

"I'll take that as a compliment as well." He tipped his imaginary hat towards her. "I will now go to that back room you have here and get myself some artwork done." He sauntered away, whistling softly, leaving Aoko half-smiling by herself.

And that was that.

.

.

.

"May the winds blow long!" She whispered to herself, relishing every word in the short sentence. She had just finished a lovely book, and now was content with staring out the store window dreamily.

Kaito, sitting nearby in his usual chair, gave her a weirded-out look, then shrugged and looked away. After all, 4 years of seeing somebody every day made one accustomed to strange actions of the said somebody.

As he absentmindedly performed some of his favorite magical moves (they were NOT tricks), which called for intense finger movements and quite a lot of hours of practice, he thought back to how he had had to come to the very chair he was sitting on for the past four years.

They'd shared some absurd conversations, completely uncalled for arguments and fights, and all in all many things he wouldn't have imagined he'd experience. It wasn't always a good thing, but it was all things of the past.

The door opened- it was an event happening more and more now- to let some customers in.

Aoko snapped back to reality. "Welcome to the Child of the Blue! How may I help you?"

The woman who'd walked in held up a poster. "Hi, I saw this advertisement and wanted to get this reward?"

"Reward?" Bewildered, Aoko peered at the poster. "'First person to bring this flyer to Child of the Blue (book store) will get a ten-dollar coupon!'" she read, frowning.

Glancing sideways at Kaito, she smiled once more and said, "Of course, the coupon-"

"The coupon is entirely yours, and you can use it until it expires, which is a month's time," Kaito interrupted smoothly. He stood up and greeted the customer with his own smile. "You can use it for any book or magazine in this very store, starting the moment you get the coupon."

Aoko was gaping at him, but Kaito continued on, undeterred by her ungainly expression. "In fact, here is your coupon right now." He produced out of thin air (or so it seemed) a thin slip of paper that was intricately designed, pronouncing the words $10 COUPON!.

"Also, this was not written on the poster, but if you call in two more people- a family member or a friend, perhaps- they can get $5 coupons for nothing. However, to get this extra reward, you'll need to call them up in the following thirty minutes. You have until," he checked his watch gracefully, "10:58. Your time starts now."

"Oh my!" the customer said. She fumbled for her phone and started dialing madly.

Aoko took this time to pull the man aside. "What is this?" she whispered.

"A marketing strategy," he replied lowly.

"Why didn't I know of this?"

"Well, did you need to? I'd always be here anyways."

"But- but-"

"They're coming!" the woman cried. "My- my daughter and her husband."

Kaito jerked his arm away from Aoko's grip subtly and faced the customer. "Wonderful. As it is now only 10:31, they have just a little over 25 minutes to reach here. Why don't you look around the shop for anything you'd like to buy until then?"

Aoko turned back as well. "Yes, Mrs.-?"

"Satou."

"Mrs. Satou. I'm the owner, Nakamura Aoko, so please call me if there's anything you need."

Mrs. Satou nodded and wandered into the depths of the store. Meanwhile, Aoko glared.

He put his hands behind his back and shrugged. "Well, you've got someone browsing the shop, two more people coming, and you can't blame me."

Aoko only sighed. "Do as you will, Kaito-kun. I put you up to it anyways."

"And it's working like a charm."

She grudgingly smiled back to his triumphant grin. "Yeah, yeah, sure it is."

As Mrs. Satou called, Aoko went to the back of the store to help, and Kaito returned to his literally daily seat, still holding a remnant of that grin.

And that was, once again, just that.


	3. Chapter 3

A quick reply to the comments of this story: thank you, first of all, for the name correction (Angel-LauraR-san)- I don't know what came over me, thinking Aoko's name was Nakamura, ha. And to your second comment as well, you are very correct. It is a bit unrealistic, which is probably why my source of inspiration was from a comedic skit of a sort. Hmm, for the story's sake, let's just say that maybe Aoko is close to the manager of the mall or something, or maybe she makes enough money to get rents payed but not enough to pay back the debt as much, or maybe they had a contract thing where for a certain amount of years Aoko can use the space? Hehe, dream up the backstory as you will. As for the lack of romance, well, the two of them _are_ quite stubborn after all.

As for Loki-san, um, sorry, I didn't know that such an idea existed in Norse or Greek mythology? ^^; Please do forgive my ignorance.

Guest-san, thanks for reading! :)

And now on with the show...

* * *

It was terrible to be awake, Kaito thought. His dark circles reached his cheeks, which seemed almost hollow. Seeing how Aoko freaked out when she saw him, he didn't need a mirror to tell him that he looked plain awful.

He was too drowsy to resist when Aoko half-dragged him to the back room, but he was conscious enough to come back outside after Aoko left him to lie down on the couch. She did nothing less of yelping at the sight of him and proceeded to give him some sleep medicine that she found somewhere inside of her bag, all but force-feeding him. Then she pushed him back onto the couch and locked the door. It really wouldn't have done much, since he knew better than anyone how to pick locks, but that sleep medicine was strong and he slept soundly before he knew what was happening.

When he came back up, there was a glass of water next to him and a blanket covering him up. The clock told his bleary mind that it was half past two, and he stumbled outside.

It was fortunate for both him and Aoko that the place was empty at the moment (a recurring thing at that time).

He blinked a few times, getting used to the sun, and suddenly his ears were bombarded with a worried "Kaito-kun!"

Kaito grinned crookedly. "Yo."

She glared at him, but it was more of worry than anything else, and she sounded very much like a mother when she said, "This is not time to be "yo"-ing anyone, much less me. Go back to sleep."

He merely shook his head and managed to poof out a rose. He opened his mouth with the most charming smile he could muster at present situation and said, quite charmingly indeed, "I'm hungry."

Rolling her eyes, she reached under her desk and brought out a bento.

Kaito was amused. "I thought there was no food allowed in the shop."

"Well, sometimes exceptions are in order. But don't eat it here- eat in the back room, okay?" Her eyes softened considerably as she looked him over. "You sure are a sight for sore eyes, Kaito. What in the world happened? You even look bruised!"

If only he could say. "Well, I _am_ a worker under a loan shark. You can't expect anything less from someone under Kaze Corps." He was lying through his teeth, but Aoko didn't need to know that.

Her eyes widened, and she whispered, "Did they beat you up because I'm still not done paying back? Is that it?"

In response, he laughed ( _what an Aoko-like thing to think_ ). "Nah, I hold enough power among the goons to avoid _that_ fate." It was true- he was a pretty big name now. Besides, the goons liked him and his magic enough to go easy on him when a higher-up ordered such a beating up, which thankfully wasn't too often. But then again, Aoko didn't need to know that either.

Kaito reached out to take the bento. "I'm just going to eat this up, okay? I'll be done in no time."

She shook her head. "Go back to sleep right afterwards."

"What, and gain weight? Are you trying to fatten me up to eat me for dinner?" he joked, trying to lighten up her worry. Unfortunately for him, Aoko wouldn't lighten up on her worry, ever.

This event would happen a multitude of times over the next few years, and Aoko decidedly did not stop worrying. Though the extent to which he was tired and/or bruised varied time to time, that didn't stop Aoko from acting like a mother to him (or a concerned girlfriend, if you prefer to see it that way, but both would refuse- out loud, that is, though their thoughts would be a whole other matter altogether- to see it that way). It became almost a routine, how she cared for him and he resisted, though in the end she always won over that protest, every time.

And that was that.

.

.

.

"Happy seven year anniversary, Aoko-san!" A rose sprang up from the magician's hand.

Aoko laughed and accepted the flower. She said, "I'm sorry I've kept you here for so long. The debt seems to increase as time goes on!"

"Actually, that is very true. Interest builds up, you know." Kaito raised an eyebrow, silently asking himself if she is kidding or not. How could she not know?

Her eyes widened. "I never knew this! Why didn't you tell me?"

"…it's common knowledge. I expected you to know this."

She sheepishly grinned. "I guess you're right: I only look at books and nothing else. Well, better late than never."

Kaito sighed, and then snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the whole store was bursting in color. Bright confetti papers were falling from the ceiling, red-and-yellow lights flashed from who-knows-where, and a merry tune played out in a tinny voice.

"Wow," Aoko said, her eyes shining in delight. "This… this!"

He smiled happily. It never failed to make him joyful whenever he saw someone awed by his magic. "Once again, happy seventh year to us both," he said again, this time a little more softly.

"When did you have time to prepare all this? I was here every second you were here! How is this all possible?" Her awestruck eyes had turned to him now, searching for an answer in his mischievous eyes.

"A magician never tells," Kaito said. He clapped twice, and suddenly everything was gone again. She blinked several times, disbelieving her sight.

"Aww, why'd you have to make it go away?" she half-whined.

He shrugged. "You were bothering me with questions."

"I won't do it again," she said.

"Too late," he replied.

She fake-glared at him- she was much too happy to actually feel mad enough- and sat down, her pretense melting into the smile she wanted to express. "It was great while it lasted, I guess. Thank you, Kaito-kun," she said.

He was silent for a while, then said casually, "I think we've known each other long enough to drop the suffixes, no?"

Aoko, who had been trying to find the page of the book she'd left off on, whipped her head towards him.

Kaito was leaning back lazily, his hands behind his face, legs crossed at his feet. His grin was more than easygoing, and his eyes as usual were twinkling with a glint of mischief.

"What are you trying to get out of this?" she asked suspiciously.

"Now, Aoko, what could I possible get from calling you without your suffix?" He asked back, looking mildly amused. Scratch that- he looked very much amused. Very much like a smug cat, in fact.

As she was about to answer, the door opened and a customer came in. "Oh, welcome!"

"Nakamura-san!"

"Ah, Garude-san!" she greeted.

The man nodded in Kaito's direction as well. "Kaito-kun, it seems you're still here."

"As always, sir."

After the customer left with a full shopping bag in one hand, the conversation resumed (this type of interruption was a recurring thing).

"I've known you long enough to know that you don't do anything if you don't get anything in return."

"Fine, then what I'll get in return is you calling me without my suffix. How 'bout that?"

"No, it has to be more than equal. Your business-like mind wouldn't accept this kind of trade."

Kaito couldn't help it- he laughed outright. "You know me quite well by now, huh?"

"It's surprising what seven years' time can do for a relationship."

"That is true."

Aoko simply stared at him and willed him with her inner powers to speak up and tell the truth. (After all, Aoko did have inner powers, yes?)

After a while, Kaito pretended to give in, and exhaled quietly. Looking at the other way, he put his two hands behind his head. When he finally spoke, he had a gentle smile on his lips as he said, almost softly, "Maybe I just want us to become closer."

The shop owner's eyes widened ever so slightly, sharply inhaled, and continued to stare (though for an entirely different reason) at the ever-smiling man.

At that very moment, a crowd of high school freshman bustled in, bringing lots of noise with them to fill up the absolute silence. Aoko's head snapped towards the door and hurriedly welcomed them in, hiding the slight pinkness of her cheeks with a shaky smile.

By the time the rowdy bunch had bought books and disappeared in a whirlwind of sound and activity, Aoko had composed herself enough to be able to meet Kaito's eye straight on without so much as a blink.

"Okay, Kaito, cut the act. I'm 29 now, so I want more than just that for a reason. What do you mean, closer? Aren't we already close?"

The unasked question hung in the air between them- exactly _what_ kind of closeness did Kaito want? -before Kaito laughed to break off the tension. "Yes, yes we are. It's just-" he hesitated, while Aoko held her breath "-friends don't call each other something-kun and something-san, don't they?"

Oh. Friends. Aoko smiled and hid the disappointment she felt inside, deep down in her heart. "Fine. I'll take that."

And though that wasn't entirely that, they let it be just that for now. After all, Aoko could be timid and Kaito could be anxious, even in a seven-year-long acquaintance with one another.

.

.

.

Kaito smothered a yawn for the upteenth time. Aoko was taking a long time with that customer- in fact, they seemed to be taking their long, sweet time getting things done. The magician was bored right out of his mind: he wasn't much of a reader, so he didn't know what in the world the two of them right there were talking about, and there was nothing interesting for him to be doing at the moment.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as Aoko leaned in closer to the male customer, her hands flailing about and a flush in her cheeks as she talked lightning-fast. Kaito chuckled to himself- only books could make her so excited.

His laughter was put on pause, however, the moment the man suddenly clasped her hand with his own. Aoko didn't seem all that uncomfortable, and the man was speaking in a whisper, though what he was saying and the expression of the man's face wasn't seen. Kaito felt a twinge of annoyance at the close contact, and the annoyance only grew when he saw (and heard) Aoko's happy laughter.

He harumphed to himself, muttering "good grief," and looked away, but it was only a matter of seconds before his eyes slowly made its way to Aoko's direction once again. His temper flared when the man suddenly hugged her, and before he knew it he was half-out of his seat, ready to come to Aoko's rescue (or so he deemed). He checked himself in time, and slumped back down on his chair.

What made it worse was that Aoko was hugging him back. Kaito crossed his arms and stared out the other window, away from the hugging pair.

It wasn't a very good day for Kaito: no, not at all.

Meanwhile, Aoko said her goodbyes to the male customer and happily returned back to her own seat behind the cashier. She immediately turned to Kaito who, for a reason to be unknown, was looking pretty annoyed. Well, she was having a pretty good day, so she ignored his obvious gloominess and spoke.

"Did you know, Kaito, that that man's grandfather wrote that one book I was ranting to you like three days before because it was just so good? Apparently he's been looking for a copy everywhere but no other store held it because it was a long time ago and it wasn't that popular anyways. He came to this store as a last try before he gave up and voila, I had it! I didn't know about the grandpa thing so I was telling him how much I recommend that book and how great it is and he was just so happy that his grandpa and that book wasn't forgotten but still loved by people like me."

She took a deep breath (she'd said all that rapidly in one single breath) and smiled. "Isn't that awesome?"

"...sure."

Aoko frowned. "Well, you don't sound so enthralled to me."

He stood up, a pout still on his face. "I'm going to the bathroom."

She scrunched up her face in confusion. "What's wrong with you today?"

"Oh nothing's wrong, just, must've felt nice."

"Huh?"

"You know, the hugging and all."

Understand began to dawn on her. "Kaito, are you telling me that-"

"Invite me to your wedding. We've known each other for years now, that should be a given."

And with that, he was gone, and Aoko sat there, blinking. A smile slowly found its way onto her face, and she laughed delightedly. Kaito, jealous? Who would've known? It flattered her to know that Kaito cared for her that way, and though she was still uncertain to what this really meant, she was quite happy anyways.

When Kaito returned from his brooding in the bathroom, he saw Aoko with her nose buried in a new book as always. He sighed inaudibly and sat down, ready to replay that hug over and over in his head, when Aoko suddenly spoke up.

"Don't expect a wedding, Kaito. Besides, there's another person that I already like, so he doesn't stand a chance."

Needless to say, Kaito wasn't sure whether he should be happy that the hug meant nothing to her or grumpy that she liked someone.

And that ended up being just that.


	4. Chapter 4

It was just another regular day, with all the regular customers coming and going and a few new ones popping in for a look, when Aoko popped the news.

Kaito was quite dumbfounded. Then deliriously happy. Then, for some reason, a bit sad. He didn't show his sadness, though, because Poker Face was in effect: a smiling, deliriously happy one, at least.

For what Aoko had said triumphantly was this: "I think I can pay off everything in a year."

It was very true that her shop had gained much popularity over the last few years, especially in the last year when the store had been rated relatively highly in the yearly Hidden Gems of the Year list. A picture of Aoko (with a leg clothed in black in the background) had made it in the newspaper as countless customers testified to its Hidden Gem-ness. (One such testimony came from a young boy named Edogawa Conan that didn't listen to some sound advice by the same shop owner, but that's another story altogether.)

Anyways, the days at Child of the Blue were not so slow-paced anymore, and more often than not, there were customers who were browsing the shop and people to help. The moments of deep conversation between Kaito and Aoko were ceasing, to say the least, for Aoko had to do so much more things now that the shop was busier.

Today was such a day as well.

"Thank you very much, ma'am! I hope you come again!"

"Yes, we do hold the newest book of that series- which I love, by the way- and if you'll follow me, I'll lead you straight to it."

"Sorry, no drinks or foods allowed in the shop. Why don't you sit on the bench outside and finish your lunch before you come back in?"

"The coupon is still valid, so don't worry- here you go. Do you want this packaged?"

"I'd recommend this book, actually, if you like that author a lot. The writing styles are pretty similar."

A barrage of customers later, Aoko plunked down on her chair and wiped her forehead. "Phew! I don't think I've been this busy for a long time." Still, there was a smile on her face and a radiant glow in her eyes, and it was obvious she was happy with the way life was.

Kaito, who hadn't been able to talk to her for too long for the whole morning and lunch time, watched her. "Why don't you hire an employee?"

She shook her head. "That costs money. Besides I don't want to keep you here for ten years straight, do I? I'd feel too bad!"

Of course, Kaito just had to take that the wrong way, but Aoko didn't know that. People rarely know when others take their words the wrong way, and this occasion was not an exception.

Blithely ignorant, Aoko continued. "Maybe you can help me instead!"

Kaito laughed, not an inch of bitterness to be found (he was, after all, the master of Poker Faces). He assumed an amused air, and said, "I don't feel compelled to move out of my seat, unfortunately for you. I'll just stick to my coupon-and-advertisement-making for now, thank you very much."

She sighed good-naturedly in response. "Well, it was worth a try."

Her attention was drawn away yet again, and Kaito held that stance for a little while longer when the unexpected occurred (as it always does).

"What do you mean, I have to buy it?"

Aoko winced. "I'm sorry, sir, but if you damage a good, you have to buy it. Store policy."

"It's not my fault that the book's pages is so easily ripped. In fact, this is your fault for putting out such poor quality goods in the first place!"

She put on a brave face, but the truth was Aoko felt helpless. She had never before experienced such a customer before- the pains that came along being a Hidden Gem, she supposed. "Sir-"

She felt a hand on her back, and suddenly a warm, familiar, and firm voice was speaking right next to her ear. "If you will, may I see that book?"

The man was taken aback at this new arrival, and he wordlessly (though angrily) handed the book over.

Aoko watched with shock when Kaito took his hand off her back to flip through the pages. "If your claim of this book being too easily ripped is true, the pages would've ripped at the very least slightly when I turn the pages this carelessly." It was obvious that he wasn't flipping gently, so the man simply sputtered.

Kaito went on and stilled only when he reached where the rip was. Almost half the page had been ripped off, something that could be seen from a long distance. He then raised the book up in the air to the customers that had stopped to watch them. "Will any one of you deny that this is not a small cut?"

Nobody spoke up, and some even shook their heads vigorously. Kaito turned back to the man. "So you see, neither is book a faulty good nor your rip a small one. I believe this book has been damaged from your actions enough for the store policy to be in effect."

The customer opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off before he could make a sound.

"Or would you prefer the shopping mall security to deal with this?"

The man could only glare angrily at the blank-faced Kaito and the openly gaping Aoko, and snatched the book from Kaito's hands. He started walking to the counter, and grumbled, "How much is this?"

Aoko (who had been not-so-subtly staring at Kaito) forced herself to look away. "H-huh? Oh! Uh, that'll be..." She looked back at Kaito's still form one more time before she hurried after the man.

The other customers dispersed, shaking their heads at the disrespectful man, and poor flustered Aoko only had a moment or two to gather herself before she was called away for help once more.

As for Kaito, he received lots of approving glances and even some slaps in the back by the more familiar customers when he walked back to his customary spot with his hands in his pocket.

When the customers were all good and gone, and there was only the needed wrapping-up to do, Aoko finally came up to Kaito.

"Thanks, you really helped me out there." She couldn't meet his eyes, but that ended up not mattering because neither could Kaito (her sudden proximity with that soft, shy voice was too much for him, even with his Poker Face). "I really didn't know what to do, you know."

"Yeah, I know."

They spent a couple more seconds that way, both staring elsewhere with a hint of red dusting their cheeks, before Aoko coughed and broke away, ending the uncharacteristically tender moment.

Aoko did her thing, tidying up the shop and locking up all the doors, as Kaito had his hands at the back of his head and whistled a merry tune.

And just before they went their separate ways with their usual farewells, Aoko called, "Kaito!"

When he turned around to face her, she threw a small package at him. He caught it in surprise, and when he moved his eyes back to Aoko, she was red in the face.

"Wha-"

"Happy birthday!" she yelled, and she scampered away as quickly as her feet could take her.

Kaito chuckled in the night air and fished out the present, and then laughed outright when he saw what was in it: a small book (could he expect anything less?) that read, "101 Easy Magic Tricks for Beginners."

When he, as he walked, opened the book's cover, the small note in Aoko's handwriting- so familiar and homely that it was almost jarring in the midst of the print- made him smile all the way back home.

"Happy birthday, Kaito [insert last name here]! We've known each other for nine years now, and yet I still don't know your last name. How crazy is that?

Anyways, just wanted to give you this book because you know magic but (apparently) not magic tricks, so I thought I'd get you started.

Thanks for sticking around from almost the very start.

Your friend, Nakamura Aoko"

And indeed, that was that.

.

.

.

"Good morning, Aoko!" Kaito all but jumped right into the store. "Gee, it's a great morning, isn't it?"

Aoko rolled her eyes, but she was smiling at the same time. "You sure are happy today."

He shrugged easily. "Is there any reason not to be?" He sauntered over to his spot, humming some kind of tune that managed to be silly, jovial, and playful at the same time.

She in response laughed, but there was something hesitant in her posture and movements, which Kaito (being Kaito) noticed straight away. With a carefully managed tone made to hide his worry, he said casually, "I'm very happy today, aren't you?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" Too rapid of an answer to count as truth.

Detective Kaito, he should be called. He scoffed and said, "C'mon Aoko, I've known you for ten straight years. Don't think you'll get away with lying to me."

She finally turned to look at him, with a sheepish smile on her face. "You could tell?"

It was Kaito's turn to roll his eyes. "Of course, Ahoko."

"Ahoko?" she gasped indignantly. "If I'm Ahoko, then you're Bakaito!"

"Excuse me?"

And, let me tell you, they went off topic for a good five minutes before Kaito returned back to the topic.

"Anyways, Ahoko, tell me what's wrong. And," he pointedly looked at her, "don't try to get off-topic again."

"It wasn't even me who made us go off-topic, it was you," she grumbled, but she fell silent anyways. After some hesitation, she simply said, "It's nothing much, just some... thoughts... that kind of bothered me these days." Aoko forced a little chuckle. "You don't have to worry too much about it."

"Who said I'm worrying?" said the very worried man. Not that Aoko knew. "I'll let you off the hook for now, but before the day is over I am going to figure it out." It was Detective Kaito to the rescue once again.

Alas, even though Kaito had decided that he'd use his Detective Skills to find out what exactly was bothering Aoko, by the end of the store hours he still had not succeeded. Aoko was being extra careful about her words, so she didn't slip up as he'd expected her to. That ultimately made him even more concerned, of course, and even Aoko could sense his worry for her. Time to time she'd send a reassuring smile towards him, though he could see that the moment she turned away, that smile would be wiped out in a second.

As he waited for her to finish things up at the cashier, he sighed, throwing his hands up once again to the back of his head, and wondered what it would be that was making Aoko decidedly non-Aoko-like. He peeked inside the shop (he was outside) and watched Aoko as she made a final count of the money made today. When she reached the end, a bittersweet smile came upon her lips, and she took out a few bills and pocketed it. 'Strange,' Kaito thought, because Aoko never did such things at the end of the day. In fact, for the last ten years, he'd never seen her take money out of her cashier into her own pocket. But then again, Aoko had been acting strange all day.

When Aoko finally came out and locked up the shop, she turned to him and smiled hesitantly. "Kaito, do you have some time?"

His eyebrows shot up. Had Aoko been replaced by a robot? She was acting so out-of-range. "I suppose I do," he answered suspiciously. "Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking maybe we could get some ice cream from the ice cream vendor just a few shops away," she blurted out. "Would you- would you like some? I can pay for it today." She held up the few bills that Kaito had seen her take out.

"...sure." Again, very not Aoko today. He didn't know what to make of it, but he decided to go along anyways. Besides, ice cream is never not good.

The walk to the ice cream vendor's was short, which was fortunate because though Aoko was trying hard to seem normal, Kaito was not taking it and the conversations always fell dead. In fact, a heavy silence hung over them for the most part.

"May I have the strawberry double scoop, please?"

"And I'd like some of that chocolate swirl triple scoop cone, thank you very much."

Aoko glared. "Kaito! I'm not _that_ rich yet!"

He sighed, both in mock sadness and a hint of real disappointment. He really did want that chocolate swirl triple scoop cone. "Fine, I'll take the chocolate swirl double scoop cone." He supposed he could get another cone later, but he still stared wistfully at the picture of the chocolate swirl triple scoop cone that was portrayed proudly on the screen.

The two of them sat gingerly on a bench nearby and, with their moods greatly uplifted by the delicious ice cream, talked and laughed for a time. As they were getting up to throw away their empty wrappers and napkins, though, Aoko's nervousness (and perhaps sadness) seemed to return.

"Um, Kaito?"

"Hmm?"

Again, that hesitation. Then she, looking at her feet, dropped the bomb. "Today was the last day you had to come."

"Huh?" (Very intelligent, Kaito, well played.)

"With today's pay, I can- no, I _will_ pay back every bit of that loan." She bit her lips. "Your job is over. You don't have to come by anymore."

To say Kaito was thunderstruck would be the understatement of the year. Scratch that- the understatement of the decade, for as long as Kaito had known her. "I don't?"

Aoko nodded. "Yup, you don't." She hurriedly raised her head to meet his eyes, and she rapidly continued, "That's why I wanted to tell you something before maybe I'd never be able to see you again, you know? I, um, well, I'm sorry first of all to have kept you here for so long, but I really enjoyed your company, it was a lot of fun, and I really loved your magic-" she was close to babbling now- "and whenever you surprised me it made me really happy. And I will really miss you when you're gone and, and..."

It was as if she wilted. Her gaze returned back to her feet. "...and I like you, Kaito." She didn't hear anything. Not even a gasp or a breath or any sign of him being there, and so she continued on, because she'd already started, so she'd better end it, too. "I've liked you for a few years now, you know, but I never was brave enough to say it. But now you might not ever come to my shop again, and I wanted you to know before anything else happened, because you come sometimes all bruised and tired and-"

"Oh, Aoko," and he hugged her. Tightly. As if he'd never let go, as if he couldn't ever think of letting go. Aoko could only freeze up and gasp in shock, but her body moved on its own accord and soon she was holding on to his sweater, and it was so warm and nice but also sent her heart on overdrive because Kaito was hugging her- _hugging her_ \- and then just as suddenly as it had come, it was gone.

She lifted her eyes to his again, a bit dazed at the sudden coldness that seemed to envelope her. He met her eyes for a bit, and she could see some kind of grief- maybe not grief but some intense negativity that took her breath away- but before she could figure out what emotion it was, he had looked away.

"I can't."

"...you... can't?" Aoko was pretty bewildered (and she couldn't be blamed, really), and her confusion showed in her eyes (not that Kaito would be able to see it anyways). "What do you mean, you can't?"

"It's complicated. I wish I could- I'm so sorry, Aoko. I- I'm- oh, Aoko." He sighed, looking frustrated and scared and serious, more serious than Aoko had ever seen him, and she thought, _this_ was what was behind his mask all this time.

They stayed like that for a little while more, with his hands on her shoulders and her eyes directed only at him, in absolute silence.

"...I'm sorry. Goodbye." He pulled back, away from Aoko and away from her confession, and she could only watch as he turned and walked further and further into the distance.

She wasn't able to move for quite some time before some kind of autopilot in her head took over and walked her back home, and the confusion didn't stop then either. She couldn't cry (she was too confused to), she couldn't laugh, and she couldn't stop thinking about what happened.

And that was that, but hopefully that wasn't to stay like that for too long.


	5. Chapter 5

A quick answer for the reviewers- first, I put this under Detective Conan because there are characters that do not exist in Magic Kaito in this story. Furthermore, I consider Aoko and Kaito as part of the DC Universe, however weird that may be hehe. Second, I'm sorry the romance is a bit on the lacking side: I meant it to be that way because I wanted their story to be a gradual and slow one. Forgive me ^^

Thanks for reading and now for the finale.

* * *

The next day, Kaito didn't come. Neither was he seen on the following day, or the next, or the next.

Though Aoko told herself she shouldn't be so surprised, the taste of disappointment in her mouth didn't leave her. In fact, that particular flavor lasted for days and days until a month had passed and she was just going through the motions.

It was still fun at the bookshop, and she still loved serving her customers and reading in her spare time, but something felt hollow. It had to be admitted that she found herself glancing at a certain chair too often for her liking. She pretended she was okay, but whenever the regular customers asked after the man whom they'd seen so very often, the one who was always wearing black and sitting in that chair, her smile faltered and she could only shrug, honestly stating, "I don't know."

"It's too bad," Ran-chan said once, a bit wistful in her own right (for dear little Edogawa had gone away to America, and she thoroughly missed him), "I had thought you two were either going out or even married."

Aoko only chuckled in reply, though what she really wanted to do was cry.

And unlike what she really felt inside, what she really hoped for and wished with all her might, that remained only that for a month more.

.

.

.

"Ah, Fujiwara-san, you're back! I've got that book in store just for you."

With a charming smile and a pleasant gesture, the bookstore owner lead the familiar customer to her desk.

"Let's see… Oh, here it is. The finale to that wonderful series, _No Pain, No Gain_."

Fujiwara-san clapped her hands together in delight. "As expected of you, Aoko-chan. Your memory is as superb as always."

Aoko laughed, "What can I say? It's all I can do." She picked the book up and brought it to her cashier. "That will be nothing more than ￥1500, but since you've been coming to this store for ten years already," she winked, "you get this for ￥900."

The regular customer laughed in delight. "A special discount, just for me?"

Aoko put a finger to her lips. "As long as you don't tell anyone, that is."

It was a quiet day, all in all- perhaps the first quiet day in two months. Aoko's bookstore did have much business, mostly because it deserved it so, and partly also because of the nice customers she'd met. 32-year-old Aoko was happy, but only to a certain extent, that her dreams had not only come true but had taken flight. She still hung on to one more dream that she only allowed herself to think of on quiet days like this one...

"Still as generous as ever, I see."

At the sound of that particular voice, Aoko felt as if all the breath had been knocked out of her. She dropped the book that she'd been holding, and her eyes widened. It couldn't be-

"Now that you have no more debt to worry about, I guess it's fine, even with me."

She found the strength to turn her head and eyes to the source of the voice, a man dressed in all black, from top to bottom, leaning heavily against the shelf.

"Ka-Kaito?" she whispered. Was this all real? Her mind debated whether she should go over and hug him first or hit him for what he'd done two months ago, and for being MIA for those two months afterwards, but before she could decide, her eyes detected the obvious pain he was in. "Kaito!"

Aoko rushed to him and gingerly took his arm. He winced- "Ow, that hurts, Aoko-" and the whining was so much like old times (two months ago) that her eyes brimmed with tears.

Though she would've very much liked it to either hit or hug him (she still couldn't decide), she realized in the midst of her emotional confusion that he needed medical help in a real hospital. Kaito was not only bruised, but there were some cuts and dark patches of the black, long-sleeved shirt that spoke of blood, and besides he was breathing heavily and looked too tired to be able to be standing there like that.

"I'm calling 911."

The fact that Kaito didn't even protest and merely asked her to be with him only attested to how much pain he was in.

She helped him to the couch in the back room, where he limped slowly and painfully to, and there she paced worriedly, waiting for the ambulance.

Aoko burst out, "What have you been doing all this time, and why are you in such a state? Who did this to you? I'm going to go find them and I'm going to give them the beating they deserve-"

Here Kaito laughed, then grimaced because it apparently hurt to laugh when you break a rib or two.

In a flash Aoko was down on the ground, kneeling next to him, asking if he was okay, and she didn't know that Kaito, for all the pain he was in, had never been so happy.

Though the ambulance did come later than Aoko would've liked them to, they were on their way to the hospital (Aoko closed shop early), and she held on to Kaito's hand all the way there, blinking back tears at the sorry state he was in.

The actual operations took long. The ER was already packed, but Kaito's condition was obvious enough that the doctors took him in as quickly as possible. In the waiting room, Aoko was chaotic with worry- "What if it's even more serious than I thought? What if he'll be crippled for life?"- for the whole five hours it took Kaito to be deemed okay again.

When she was finally allowed to go to him, Aoko was nearly in a breakdown (but who can blame her?). Only when she saw with her own two eyes that he was quite okay (though with a lot of bandages all over) did she allow herself to breathe a sigh of relief. Still, she rushed to his side and made sure he was as comfortable as he could be and not in any kind of pain and satiated with water before she relaxed completely.

They shared a content silence for a moment before Aoko's mind, now that the dangers and emergencies were gone, finally realized that it was Kaito that was in front of her eyes: Kaito, who'd been gone for days and days without a proper explanation.

She narrowed her eyes, and Kaito gulped. "Kaito! What in the world?"

"Here it comes," Kaito muttered, but he couldn't be happier for anything in the world.

"Think yourself lucky that you're hurt enough for me to restrain from attacking you. You leave me two months ago with that kind of response and come back now with your body all messed up? Do you know how confused I was for two months? Two months, Kaito! You've been gone for two long months and I didn't know what was happening for two long months! What is wrong with you?"

Though he knew shouldn't, the laugh escaped him before he knew it and he was happy enough to ignore the ache that came with it.

"You laugh? Kaito whatever-your-last-name-is, you better have a good explanation for why you're laughing. In fact, you better have a good explanation for why you did what you did two months ago! No- you better have a good explanation for that and also why you're so beat up today! Well? I'm waiting!"

Too bad for Aoko, Kaito only saw her angry glare and pout as adorable, and he couldn't help but let his smile grow.

"And why are you smiling now, sir?" Aoko snapped.

"I love you."

Her eyes widened, and Kaito observed, with his heart full, how beautiful Aoko was especially when she was flustered and blushing.

She opened and closed her mouth soundlessly, red in the face, for a few moments before she gained a grasp on her surroundings again. "W-well, don't expect me to let everything go with just that, Kaito!"

He chuckled once more- what could be said? He was a happy man, at 32, with no more problems and no more struggles. When Aoko's blushing glare only intensified, he pulled on a serious face for her sake (though his lips kept twitching up into a smile), "I'll explain to you all the explanations you ever want, Nakamori Aoko, but for now let me just tell you how much I've missed you for these past two months."

Well. Aoko had not expected that, and she all but stared at him. "What?"

"As soon as everything was done, I came straight to your shop just so I could see your face, you know."

Aoko sat down next to him grumpily, albeit a bit less angrily than before. "And that was incredibly foolish of you, you know that too."

He shook his head, and his hand searched for hers. "Aoko, seeing you was way more important than anything else. That's what I'm trying to say."

She sputtered indignantly (Kaito's hand had found its mark), and she turned to face him sharply. "You sure know how to be cheesy. Bakaito."

Kaito laughed and pulled her in for a kiss, one that they'd both been dreaming of for years, and for now, she left that to be that. For now.

.

.

.

They were 22 when they first met, barely tolerating each other and willing to leave things as they were. When they turned 32, however, things were much, much different.

They still had a lot of things to do, a lot of things to explain, and a lot of obstacles to overcome, but they had each other and that was quite enough for them at the time.

The time would soon come when Aoko was made to understand that Kaito had been part of a group aimed to bust a massive and dangerous underground operation, and that he had had to leave her that fateful day because he was too afraid for her, and that for the past two months he and that group had all disappeared in order to hunt and then bring them down for good, and that as soon as they were captured, he'd stumbled away to see Aoko first and foremost.

The time would soon come when she would find out that her long-time customer Ran-chan had undergone the same process but even longer, what with Kudo Shinichi being shrunken, and they'd wallow together in sympathy and become better friends than ever before, despite being four years apart, and also make friends with Ran-chan's friend Kazuha-chan who had pretty much experienced the same thing too.

The time would soon come when Kaito would, in a beautiful display of magic, ask Aoko to marry him before they reached the "ripe old age of 34," and the time would come thereafter when Aoko would give birth to an adorable baby son the same year Ran-chan married and Hattori-kun finally found the courage to ask for Kazuha-chan's hand in marriage.

But that was all to come, all to be written down in history as a happy ending, later. And at the very moment, they'd just found each other again, and they were happy to leave everything up for the future.

And that was, as ever before, that.

.

.

.

EXTRA

"Kaito. Kuroba Kaito. Kaito Kuroba."

"You sure are having a fun time saying my full name over and over again."

"Think of it as making up for the long time- say, a decade?- that I missed out saying this, Kuroba Kaito."

"Are you going to keep calling me my full name?"

"I'm glad you're amused, Kuroba Kaito, but you know what? I _will_ do that."

"Fine, fine."

"I, Nakamori Aoko, hereby declare that I will call Kuroba Kaito his full name- that is, Kuroba Kaito- until I feel satisfied."

"No exact dates, huh?"

"Of course not. I'm too smart for that."

"Well, in a few months' time, that declaration will be wrong."

"I probably will stop calling you the whole name by a few months, yeah."

"No, not that part."

"What are you talking about, Kuroba Kaito?"

"The first part."

"What, 'I, Nakamori Aoko, hereby declare'?"

"Yeah. Your name won't be Nakamori Aoko anymore."

"Then what... Oh."

"Mmhmm."

EXTRA FIN.

* * *

And thus ends my first multichaptered story. It started out as a simple oneshot idea in my head and then it became a full-blown story that you have just read. I hoped you enjoyed it, the short ride it was, because I certainly did enjoy writing it. I haven't finished a non-oneshot story in forever! How awesome is this? :)

Also, just a side note to those perhaps confused about all the ages and stuff: when Aoko met Ran and Shinichi for the first time, she was 22 and they were 18- seniors in high school. Kazuha and Heiji, mentioned in this chapter, are the same ages as Ran and Shinichi. So only Aoko and Kaito are older here. Also, I kind of tweaked the story about Conan so that Shinichi became Conan sometime in college, and he continued to be Conan for years until the "operation" was down. Kaito is NOT a thief of any kind, but he _is_ a debt collector under a loan shark company, so he is many times considered to be "bad" (like the actual story). And did anyone catch the Takagi/Satou pairing that cameo'd in this story? ^^

Thanks for reading. Kudos to you for sticking around!


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